The Perfect Hybrid

CHAPTER IX

Hunter

I ran. I ran as fast as I could. Just go straight and keep running. That was my mantra when I was a kid. I closed m eyes and followed my other senses. When I opened them, I saw a light from a distance. The light was just like when I was running through a dark tunnel when I was a kid. But this time, my life is not the only thing I am carrying.

"Help!" I screamed on top of my lungs, knowing that the students of my former high school are probably scattered from where I am. The bonfire is just meters away so I figured that at least some of them would hear me.

When some bystanders did notice, they immediately became alert and I finally collapsed on my knees with Skylar still cradled in my arms. I wasn't about to let her go when she fainted.

"Call an ambulance!" I heard someone yell.

"And call the police too!" I added. "Ella and Mr. Tyler are both unconscious in the woods. Someone must have attacked them."

Just then, a chorus of gasp caught my attention.

"Oh my God!"

I turned at what they are looking and was shocked when I saw Ella lying unconscious just a few feet from where I am.

Who the hell carried her?

I asked in my mind because I was sure that I was only carrying Skylar when I ran from the woods. And I was sure I was the only one conscious when I found them.

With questions still running in my head, I found my answer when I noticed a strange silhouette of a man from a distance. I stared at it until a gush of wind forced me to close my eyes. And when I opened them again, he was already gone.

"Hunter!" I heard someone call out.

That voice

"The police and the paramedics are on their way."

"René?" my eyes landed on the estranged girl and stared at her in disbelief. It's been so long since I talked or even seen her. And seeing her here as if she appeared out of nowhere, is unbelievable.

"We could catch-up later. Right now, I need you to tell me where Mr. Tyler is exactly because there's someone of something is blocking my vision."

"No, René! You are not going there alone," I said sternly. "Are you seeing Ella and Skylar right now? They are both unconscious. Someone must have attacked them in the woods together with Mr. Tyler."

I saw her take in a deep breath before crouching before me.

"Hunter, you are carrying Skylar from the woods, were you not? You said that they are both unconscious. Tell me, why is Ella here?" she whispered while tilting her head in Ella's prone body. "Unless you managed to carry them both, someone must have carried or dragged Ella here, leaving the school's beloved teacher alone in the woods."

She looked me in the eyes and I saw that she knows exactly what's happening.

"I'll tell you. But I need to understand what's going on first. I need answers."

She placed a hand on my shoulder before saying, "you'll understand soon enough."

Another riddle

Deciding I have no choice but to do what she said, I sighed and closed my eyes.

What happened next was weird.

I felt some sort of warmth from René's hand on my shoulder before images started flying behind my closed eyelids, the incident that took place started playing in my mind. And it was like reliving the experience I just had.

I tried to open my eyes, and suddenly felt the warmth from René's hand begin to heat up. Alarmed at what I felt, I tried to wiggle out of her grasp but to no avail, my body seemed to be frozen as I watched the scenes from before played in my closed eyes.

"Stop!" a voice from all over me demanded. Hearing that made me force myself to move and open my eyes even more, but the heat intensified.

"I said stop!" the voice commanded more sternly. "The more you resist me the more you increase the intensity of the heat you are feeling."

I stopped, and the heat returned to its previous warmth. I let her do her thing. I just let her make me relive what happened in the woods.

Whatever she was doing, it made me feel like there are two people inside my head. One is aware of what's happening right now while the other one is busy doing what I did, thinking what I thought, and feeling what I felt. And everything was all happening in my head.

This must be the feeling of having someone invade your privacy, pry and look into your deepest soul.

I tensed. And the heat immediately intensified.

She reached the point where my thoughts flew to my worst nightmare.

I was running in the woods, carrying Skylar when my past came to me. I saw my young self, blindly running through a series of dark tunnels, relying only on instinct. I was scared. I was crying. I was alone.

When images of my father's bruised and bloodied figure started flying in my mind's eye, I know I had to resist. And I did. This is the part of me that I am not willing to share, not to anyone. I ignored the pain that came from the intensified heat when resisting.

This is no longer related to what happened! I tried to scream at the voice. Get out! You have already violated my mind. This is not something you should know.

The distant light of the bonfire came to my eyes and I released a breath. The heat on my shoulder died out and I was finally able to move. I opened my eyes, expecting to see and was about to flood René with questions, when I was met with the trees in the woods.

Everything was as it was when I arrived. Skylar is still in my arms; Ella was lying unconscious a few feet away while some of the kids are starting to surround us.

Everything was as it was before René came. Well, except for the fact that I seemed to be more tired than I was. Everything was starting to blur and when I heard the sirens of the police and ambulance, I finally gave into exhaustion.

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